


storytime

by nicolestarlightwrites



Series: 25 Days of Prompt-mas (multi-fandom) [12]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes-centric, Established Relationship, Jewish Bucky Barnes, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:41:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21794725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicolestarlightwrites/pseuds/nicolestarlightwrites
Summary: The group eats in relative silence, only small comments breaking the peace every now and then, when Bucky says, "This reminds me of that time we stole chickens for Christmas dinner, during the war."OrBucky reminisces about spending Christmas with the Howling Commandos
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: 25 Days of Prompt-mas (multi-fandom) [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560013
Kudos: 51





	storytime

**Author's Note:**

> Just on time!

It's December 25th, 6:37 pm. There's laughter in the air, and the smell of mulling spices wafts through Steve's apartment in D.C. Bucky, Natasha, and Sam are all at the dinner table playing cards while Steve is in the kitchen gently stirring the simmering pot of matzo ball soup. He smells delicate scents of clove and onion, as well as the stronger, heartier scent of chicken broth. He takes a sip and is transported to the time when Bucky's Ma taught his the recipe.

* * *

_Steve stands on the Barnes' doorstep, wanting to say goodbye to his partner before he shipped out. Before he can even knock, Becca opens the door. She greets him with a watery smile. Steve can only weakly smile back. She opens the door further and beckons him inside._

_The Barnes' house has always been fun and lively, a refuge from the harsh life of the Great Depression. What he sees today, though, is enough to make a knot form in the back of his throat. The back of his eyes burn but Steve refuses to cry._

_Bucky stands in the living room giving his Ma the biggest hug he can muster. To the untrained eye, Bucky is the only one in the room who is keeping it together. A deeper look, though, proves that he's_ scared. _His eyes are lined with barely-there tears and he clings desperately to his Ma, his home, his_ life. _Ma's shoulders tremble not just with sadness, but with righteous fury. He's just a boy. Boys don't need to go fight in a war between fully grown, powerful men. Boys should stay at home and mature and learn and be_ free. _They shouldn't have to fear for their future, no one should._

_A few sniffles and muffled sobs later, Bucky pats Ma's shoulder. "It'll be okay," he whispers. Even though they know that it may not be okay, they both accept his statement. Then, Bucky looks up and sees Steve. His face minutely crumples before he can regain his composure._

_Slowly, Bucky saunters towards Steve. They look each other in the eye. No words are exchanged but they both know what the other wants to say. Unspoken "don't go"s and "wait for me, Buck"s and "stay here where it's safe, Punk"s pass between the two. Steve steps closer; so does Bucky. Eventually, the are face to face, chest to chest, heart to heart. Steve wraps his arms around Bucky's torso and rests his forehead on his chest. Silent tears fall, staining both Steve's face and Bucky's uniform. Bucky reciprocates the hug. "Remember pal," Steve starts, emotion clogging his throat. He coughs. "I'm with you till the end of the line." Bucky only hugs Steve harder, shakily exhaling._

_Eventually, the time has come and Bucky is shipped off. Before Steve can return home, Becca stops him. "Wait," she says, "we have something to tell you." Perplexed, Steve stays._

_Buck's Ma sits him down on their worn couch. She says, "We know," and all the blood rushes out of Steve's face. He's as pale as a ghost, eyes widened in shock. If this news gets out, Steve knows it will spell untold trouble for the two of them. Winifred is quick to follow up her statement with, "and it's okay. I just want you to take care of my boy, once this horrible war is over."_

_"We also wanted you to have this," Becca says, and hands him a weathered note card. "It's a recipe for matzo ball soup, Bucky's favorite." Steve gingerly folds the recipe, puts it in his back pocket, and thanks the Barnes. He returns home._

* * *

Steve shakes his head, back in the present. _Needs more salt,_ he thinks. After seasoning to taste, Steve ladles the soup in four bowls and carries them to the dinner table, where everyone else is seated. He places them down on everyone's placemats and sits with them. Bucky takes a whiff of soup and smiles nostalgically. He sips the broth and his eyes widen. There's pure love and affection in Bucky's eyes when he says, "This tastes just like Ma's." Steve thinks he's fallen in love all over again.

"Steve, this is surprisingly really good," Natasha comments. Steve has the urge to feel offended, but even he recognizes that he's not the greatest cook in the world.

"Yeah man, where'd you learn to make this? It seems pretty far above your skill level," Sam adds.

Steve indignantly holds his chin up a little higher and says, "Bucky's Ma taught me." Sam snorts and takes a bite out of his matzo ball.

The group eats in relative silence, only small comments breaking the peace every now and then, when Bucky says, "This reminds me of that time we stole chickens for Christmas dinner, during the war." Steve laughs fondly at the memory while Natasha rolls her eyes.

"Oh god, not _another_ war story," Sam exasperatedly laments. Bucky just smirks.

* * *

_December 24. 11:47 pm._

_The Howling Commandos are stationed at a tiny outpost in a small Italian village. They are all sitting near a weakly burning flame in the fireplace. Suddenly, Bucky stands up and proclaims, "It's almost Christmas! We need to get a turkey for Christmas dinner!" Half of the men are too tired to argue while the other half is so delirious that they actually think it's a good idea._

_Steve, apparently being the only sane one left, says, "Absolutely not. We don't know what out there this late at night, and there's no way a turkey is worth our efforts." His reasonable response falls on deaf ears._

_Dernier pulls out a mysterious bottle of amber liquor and Steve fondly shakes his head. There goes his hopes for a quite, peaceful night._

_The group begins planning out a method to steal a turkey as if they're making serious battle plans. Steve joins in, but only to make sure they don't plan anything stupid. Eventually, they have a fully formed plan. They head out._

_Morita and Dernier approach the farm first. Their job is to scope out the landscape to make sure there were no Axis spies in the area. Then, Dugan, Jones, and Falsworth attempt to herd the chickens just beyond the trees, using the cover of the woods to their advantage._

_That leaves Bucky and Steve. Their job was to grab the chickens and run. Bucky, being, quote, "naturally talented and athletic," had absolutely no problem catching them. Steve, on the other hand, was struggling. There were chickens pecking his ankles, his arms, he'll, even his eyes. He wasn't able to grab a single one. Leave it to Steve to punch Hitler a thousand times and lose a battle to a chicken all in one breath._

* * *

"Wait, hold on. That is _not_ what happened. I didn't get beaten by chickens!" Steve pouts. Bucky snickers and gives Steve a placating Pat on the cheek.

"There there, Rogers. Not everyone is as naturally talented as me." Natasha tries to hide her smile while Sam openly laughs at Steve. Some friend he is.

"Anyways, continue," Natasha says.

* * *

_Ten minutes later they return to the cabin, Bucky with three chickens and Steve with a plethora of scratches. He gets thoroughly teased by the Commandos._

_They cook their chickens over the small fire in their outpost in peaceful silence. Every now and then, the spell is broken by a whisper or a chuckle. The air feels thick with emotion. They know that regardless of where their paths take them in life, they will all remember this. They'll remember the waning heat of the fire, they'll remember the smell of chicken, they'll remember the thrill of stealing at midnight with no consequences. They'll remember this place, this time, this_ family.

* * *

"And that's how we stole chickens on Christmas," Bucky concludes.

" _Finally,_ " Sam jokingly grouches. The group all shares a laugh, and Bucky thinks _I'll remember this, too. This time, this place, this family._

Bucky smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's a wrap! I hope you guys enjoyed it! If you did, please drop a kudo, comment, or both.
> 
> @ nicolestarlightwrites on tumblr


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